Having a ball: Ball Park Music find their mojo with Good Mood

By Craig Mathieson

21 February 2018 — 2:05pm

Whatever the genre, for any youngish alternative musician in Australia, Triple J's annual Hottest 100 song poll can be the most nerve-wracking day of the year.

Held each January and compiled from over 2 million votes, it can be an artist's breakthrough moment, a highpoint of their career or, if the votes don't fall their way, a nationally broadcast disappointment. An act's hopeful Hottest 100 listening party can swiftly become a wake.

That's what happened in January 2017 when the members of Brisbane independent pop band Ball Park Music, who have had multiple entries from their first three albums on previous Hottest 100s, convened at the end of the day to discover that their fourth album, 2016's Every Night the Same Dream, had been blanked despite strong reviews, a national chart debut of three, and their largest Australian tour.

"There was definitely some soul-searching," remembers Ball Park Music's chatty, self-deprecating frontman Sam Cromack. "I was feeling very confused afterwards. Had we got arrogant or complacent? I thought my career was cooked."

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Cut to January 27 this year and Cromack – who is at pains to point out that making the Hottest 100 is not something Ball Park Music feel is in any way their due – and his bandmates threw a Hottest 100 shindig. In 2017 the band had released a pair of new singles, Exactly How You Are and The Perfect Life Does Not Exist, and after a nervous wait as the countdown hit the heights, the former's everyday ebullience came in at an impressive No. 18.

"I partied harder than I had partied in years," admits the 28-year vocalist and guitarist, who believes that the previous year's unexpected setback had revitalised the band. Both the singles and the album they were subsequently on, Good Mood, which was released a week ago, are beneficiaries of Cromack's new songwriting regimen.

"Honestly it was the best thing. We took a moment to reflect and instead of it deterring me I knuckled down and wrote so much. It felt amazing like I was back in touch with what I was best at," Cromack says. "I put some rules on myself: everything had to have the classic verse-chorus-verse-chorus pop structure. I had a ball. And with my lyrics I was like, 'For God's sake, Sam, be clear about what you want to say!' "

"So often we look down on pop music, but the rules didn't crush our creativity," he adds. "We still had a desire to experiment and innovate, to move forward, but the songs are more direct and we found ourselves having a great time making it."

Ball Park Music – Cromack, keyboardist Paul Furness, bassist Jennifer Boyce, guitarist Dean Hanson and his twin brother, drummer Daniel – went straight from touring to recording because they were so excited about what they'd written. But there were other impetuses, too. Daniel Hanson became a father, making him the band's first parent, and that also influenced the group dynamic.

"Watching Daniel gave me a better appreciation of work-life balance," Cromack says. "For the first time ever I was able to leave the studio and accept that the day was done, I'd done my best, and now I was going home to spend time with my wife. I put more trust in my abilities as an artist and a person."

Cromack, who will joke about being happy that he's married to a psychologist given his tendency to grow anxious about the band's future fortunes and guilty about their past success, also made a conscious decision to listen to new artists breaking around the world. It was nihilistic SoundCloud rappers such as Lil Pump – "bleak but visceral", observes Cromack – who inspired him to apply hip-hop production techniques to Good Mood tracks such as Frank.

One thing that didn't change: Ball Park Music's unassuming nature. After a succession of successful albums there's still no sign of a stylist's influence; one recent promotional photo is notable for the preponderance of check shirts.

"We've had moments where we've pretended we can be fancier or play up the untouchable rock star image, but it feels so awkward," Cromack says. "We've realised that being ordinary is part of our thing, so I've put all my Nick Cave suits in the back of the cupboard."

Ball Park Music play the Forum Theatre in Melbourne on Friday, March 2, and the Enmore Theatre in Sydney on Friday, March 9. For full tour dates, go to ballparkmusic.com